MSCS policy committee recommends temporary suspension of two policies, debates new 40‑minute daily recess requirement

Memphis Shelby County Schools interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond and policy staff presented nine proposed policy revisions to the board’s Policy, Governance and Legislation committee on Oct. 21, including a request to temporarily suspend two district policies and a presentation of changes required by state law.

The policy office recommended temporarily suspending the district data‑dashboard policy and Policy 2001 (annual operating budget) "until January 27" so staff and the board can align the superintendent’s evaluation targets, district key performance indicators and budget priorities. The presenter told the committee staff would ask the board to "suspend the rules" and consider adopting those two items on first reading at the board’s next Tuesday meeting; no committee vote was recorded in the committee transcript.

Why it matters: staff said the suspensions would create time for alignment between performance measures and budget priorities so the board can approve a prioritized budget framework.

State‑driven changes and local policy edits

Staff highlighted Policy 3007 (student wellness), which they said reflects a state statutory change that increases the required amount of elementary physical activity from about 130 minutes per week to 40 minutes per school day. The presenter described that requirement as "unstructured physical activity" that must occur outdoors when weather permits and cannot be counted as physical education class or time when electronic device use is permitted.

Several board members raised practical concerns about implementing 40 minutes per day. Board Member Keith Williams asked who would be responsible for delivering that time and whether it would reduce instructional minutes; the interim superintendent said implementation details are a matter for administration and indicated the district could consider extending the school day or expanding before‑ and after‑school supports. Richmond framed the change as a statutory mandate: "we must start looking at how to better extend our day" and emphasized that schools will need operational plans to meet the requirement.

Other policy revisions presented included:

- Conflict of Interest: expand the scope of disclosures to apply to all district employees rather than only certain senior staff, with senior personnel filing annual disclosures and other employees required to disclose potential conflicts as they arise. - Grading policies (5014 and 5015): add language aligning report cards to state requirements for reporting universal reading/dyslexia screener results and allow the superintendent to delegate responsibilities. - Interscholastic athletics (Policy 6051): align to state law allowing virtual‑school students to participate in athletics. - Student conduct (Policy 6022): add language on parental notification when a credible threat is reported to law enforcement, clarify principals’ suspension authority (1–10 days) and require behavior‑improvement plans for suspensions longer than five days and a submission of a suspension notification report to the regional superintendent for 5–10 day suspensions. - Policy 1015 (Board District General Counsel): clarify settlement‑signing authority (up to $100,000 for the general counsel; larger settlements require executive committee approval) and specify administrative alignment and the general counsel’s authority to engage outside counsel for legal services.

Board members asked for more transparency on legal spending. Board Member Hubert Garcia asked whether aggregate legal fees and settlements would be visible to the public; the general counsel said the policy would require semi‑annual reporting to the board but confidentiality rules limit public disclosure of student‑specific cases (for example, IDEA settlements), and staff said they could add clearer language limiting non‑legal professional services to the existing $74,999 cap.

Next steps

Staff said principals and faculties would be briefed the following day and community input would be taken during the regular board process. The committee was asked to consider suspending rules so two policies could be adopted on first reading at the next board meeting; no formal committee vote on that suspension appears in the transcript.